BHUBANESWAR: Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari on Saturday said the state government will start disbursing compensation for crop and house damage caused by cyclone Dana and consequent floods to the affected people without waiting for central assistance.
The minister said most of the departments have already sent the damage reports to the government. It will take a day or two for the Energy department to submit its report as power infrastructure has been the second worst-affected after crops, he said.
Pujari said three districts of Balasore, Bhadrak and Kendrapara have suffered maximum damage from the cyclone. Crop and house damage have also been reported from Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts.
“We are expecting detailed damage reports from the districts by Sunday. After assessment by the office of the special relief commissioner, it will be submitted to the state government for onward transmission to the central government,” Pujari said.
A central team will visit the state only after getting the report from the state government. After field visits, the central team will exchange damage reports with the state government and have meetings with officers of different departments. Grant of central assistance will be based on the report of the inter-ministerial team.
“Since it will take time for the Centre to finalise a package, the state government has decided to start disbursing compensation to the affected people as per the assessment of the SRC. Damage caused to public property and assets of different departments will also be compensated as per the State Disaster Relief Fund norms,” the minister said.
Apart from power infrastructure, drinking water supply projects were badly hit in rural and urban areas of the three districts. Similarly, educational institutions were also affected by the cyclonic storm and floods, he added.